The Dillon tribune., 1887-06-17
A seM!N,scEkcE OF EMERSON.


The subject of discussion at tho meet.
ing Of tho Starr King Fraternity wa.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, and tho principal
attraction was a paper by c. J. Wood
bury, Of Oakland, who was an acquaint
ance and friend Of the ,iiustrior,s philosc'
pher. After giving lis personal impres.
sions at some length. the SPEAKER consid.
cred the nature Of Emerson's influence.
He said: as.. ...e
Il answer without hesitation, to INC he
was simply stimulator, awakener. 1t il
my conviction that, like Pascal and
Gurnall and Rousseau and Herdcr and
Iessing and Carlyle, he will always be
read By the young rather than the old.
forcing his way. not By reasoning and
syllogisms, but by feeling, imagination
and intuition, and So driving one to new
and strnngc attitudes Of thought and
action. Sometimes, think, this was the
most common II not tho only way in
which he looked upon. himself. Ger
tainly, am not prepared 70 say it was in
joke that he said Of himself: DO not
count ON mo as standing anywhere, un-
settle everything This I do know,
wouldn't let him look even into cup Of
coffee for which, had any respect, for to
me he was u born iconoclast. lie brought
the whole existing order with which
had been familiar into doubt. Ho taught
mo to have no respect for tho old simply
l1ca,lsc it was old. And to me ever after
meeting him tho old became fur too. often
the obsolete. Nothing that is, / came to
learn. is entitled to respect simply because
it Is. He slnote me thus as III the FORE
head at our very first interview. The &C.
casion was the return Of mn article had
brought him with his suggestions in
pencil OH the margin. He fell to it and
gave me lecture on composition which
was u clear departure fro,u everything
the professor Of rhetoric had been tcaci,-
ing us for two years. ' f.%
You shall have no firstly or secondly
or thirdly, he said. .Im, shall make no
skeleton or plan. You shall have r."
pcrolation or cxordiun. What is it yo,:
are writing for. anyway: What do you
want to ray? Say it. Out with it. Don't
lead mp to it. Don't try to let your
nearer down from it. That is to lc COM
nonplace. Say il with all the force and
grace You can and stop.
: !
suppose you read your. vcr%>, over after
YOU have written thcm?'
:" Certainly. 'l7@e r~
81 suppose. then, after n little they
grow old to you:' ~ ........a
. Indeed they do. .......-... ......
"'And you continue to write. II. after
long time, you look any of your lines
over, and you come to one or a success
sion and say to yourself, THAT is good, ~
1t IS good. no matter what any one SAYS
to the contrary, but destroy without de-
lay everything else. Poetry. whether it
comes in dreams or in CLEANS, is ALWAYS
noble and holy. 1t must serve no sortiid
use. 1t il Of the above. YM, must keen
some fact hooks for poetry. think that
lhey arc mitch more nearly related to
poetry than rhyme or rhythm. Study
dreek Tor expression, but the poetic fact
is half tho battle. For your fact hooks
gather and s>.,rc!. everything. hut YOU
snail not rcad Prescott or Bancroft OF
Motley or Montague. Prescott il u
thorough man. Bancroft reads enor.
inous'y; always understands his subject.
Motley was lainstaking and practical.
but their style slays. Neither of them
Lifts himself otf his feet. They have no
lit in thena.'
;. y think now. without betrayins pub
lislcrs confidence. can venture 10 Riyc
you few Ut Mr.. En,eison's expressions
to me which are in the line Of the direct |
purpose Of thess memories. They arr
''ist as fis~ii III when they wele uttered. |
Dyer W half generation ago, although they.
llke everything he said, are more easily
when re:d than when listened
fO. -.
!, Shut Your look when your own
|isslght comes. It is Of more value than
hat Of the angel Gabriel
~ Ihc" Is no strong performance,
without little fanaticisnl on tho mart Of
no performer. Wh,,. YOU meet son of
Kentucky his very presence seems to say:
1T yon like mo. we'll: il YOU don't. look
,ut for yourself. -
!" \ conn,iseis.te any ono who is ,,,l,.
eSt 10 tho misery Of baing oyerplacel.
" hat you arc stands over yo, and thnn.
lers and denies what yo,, saw
'lnd YOU ever think about tho logic
n brain stimulus: Nature supplies her
,wn. 1t is astonishing what she will do
you will give her II chance. Even tho
most tired brain will get relief under the
'Ppie tlee on the grass. Later in life a
up OF tea perhaps, but tohacco-what
ulc crowls'r is this with which to prv
nto the delicate tissues of the brainl'
IN study do not stop until you en-.
ounter tho fact with Your own hand.
BY all shows and learn lust how
now stands. Though tho reward Of
nc market is in tho thing done, the tine
eward II in tho doing. '"-Oaklani Cal1
enquirer. ~'A''/
Water Of the Dead Sea.
just ut dawn wo dismountcd on tho